This invention relates to a method of producing multiple laminated shingles (i.e. a multi-layer shingles).
Laminated shingles are very well known and are shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,802 to Hannah et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,902 to Stahl et al. In laminated shingles, several layers of roofing material are laminated together (by a suitable adhesive) to provide an appearance characterized by variations in thickness, which appearance cannot readily be achieved by a single layer shingle. In addition, the different layers can be coated with different color surfacing material and can have cutouts located in various locations to provide an attractive appearance.
It is also known to produce multiple laminated shingles from a single sheet, as will be described shortly. However, in this prior art method which will be described, four laminating machines and four crosscutters are required. In addition, in the prior art method the sheet is slit by a pattern cutter into eight sheets, all eight of which must be moved from the pattern cutter to the four laminating machines. The resultant four laminated strips must then be moved from the four laminating machines to four crosscutters. The number of machines needed, and the complexity of the material handling, increase the cost of production and reduce the efficiency of the process.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method of producing multiple laminated shingles, in which in a preferred embodiment, the operations required to produce the shingles can be carried out in a simple manner with fewer machines and simpler material handling methods.
In one of its aspects the invention provides a method of making a laminated shingle from at least one sheet of roofing material, comprising: (a) producing from said at least one sheet a plurality of strips; (b) assembling said strips into a single laminated sheet; and (c) slitting and crosscutting said laminated sheet on a single cutter into a plurality of lanes of shingles.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of making a laminated shingle from a sheet of roofing material comprising: (a) cutting said sheet of roofing material into five strips, said strips comprising first and second double shims, first and second single tooth strips each having a pair of opposed sides and teeth at one side thereof forming a tooth portion thereof, and a double tooth strip having a pair of opposed sides each with teeth thereat forming two tooth portions of said double tooth strip; (b) laminating said first shim below the tooth portion of said first single tooth strip and below one tooth portion of said double tooth strip to form one side of a lamination strip; (c) laminating said second shim below the tooth portion of said second single tooth strip and the other tooth portion of said double tooth strip to produce another side of said lamination strip; (d) slitting lengthwise and crosscutting said lamination strip to produce four shingles across the width of said lamination strip.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings.